In motor vehicle front wheel drives, a drive axle is disposed between a transaxle on the sprung mass of the vehicle and a wheel spindle constituting part of the unsprung mass of the vehicle. An outboard, non-stroking constant velocity universal joint connects the drive axle to the wheel spindle. An inboard, stroking constant velocity universal joint connects the transaxle to the drive axle and strokes longitudinally and articulates angularly to accommodate suspension excursions of the wheel spindle relative to the transaxle. In some applications, the inboard joint is a crossed groove stroking constant velocity universal joint including a cylindrical inner joint member having a plurality of inner ball grooves, a cylindrical outer joint member having a plurality of outer ball grooves facing and crossed relative to the inner ball grooves, and a plurality of spherical bearing balls seated in respective pairs of the inner and outer ball grooves and confined thereby to the homokinetic plane of the universal joint for constant velocity operation. Commonly, such universal joints are constructed such that the widths of the ball grooves substantially equal the diameters of the bearing balls so that a mild interference fit is achieved between the bearing balls and corresponding crossed pairs of inner and outer ball grooves. Such mild interference fit between the bearing balls and ball grooves minimizes angular lash between the inner and outer joint members but also induces friction which resists stroking of the universal joint when the latter is in a neutral mode in which there is substantially zero torque transfer through the universal joint, e.g., when the motor vehicle is stopped with the engine on and the transaxle in a neutral range. In such neutral mode, linear vibrations transferred from the transaxle to the drive axle through the stroking universal joint because of the aforesaid induced friction may be transferred from the drive axle to the body through the nonstroking outboard universal joint and induce a noticeable shake in the body.